A Tangled Web of Beauty Part 1- Right Place, Wrong Time
by Starjargon
Summary: The Ponds get a few surprise visitors. Only, it wasn't meant to be a surprise. Oops. 11/ River Amy/ Rory


**A/N- Here is a series I've been working on for quite some time. There are different stories, all part of the same series- The Tangled Web of Beauty. Sure, that's a nice name. This is the first in this series simply because it struck the right tone for a beginning. I decided to upload this part because it's ready to go- each "episode" will also have multiple chapters- all currently works in progress. Due to the Timey Wimey nature of the Doctor and the Pond's life- the order of the series doesn't necessarily matter. Also, very AU- in which Manhattan shall now be known as "that place the Doctor and Ponds went before they went to the pub and Amy and River schooled the boys at video games." There will be so much fluff, crazy random happenstances, and guest appearances in this story- so be prepared, and enjoy the ride, because I have so far. Let me know what you think!**

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Amy and Rory were visiting River's new residence- the Doctor had bought her one in several different centuries and she rotated regularly, having spent one life in Leadworth and much of this one in prison, she wasn't one for being tied down to one specific location.

They were surprised, however, when the TARDIS parked in the middle of the living room- River was preparing a special meal for them in the kitchen a few doors down in the spacious- well, they still called it a house. Out came the Doctor in the middle of some kind of argument with a young barely- teenage girl.

"I don't care if they were defeated, they were still one of the greatest innovators of their planet- ever!"

"Says the man who laughs at history books."

"And now you see why! They always manage to rewrite what happened based on assumptions and ridiculous accusations."

"You're being so unreasonable!"

"Ah- this is a rubbish argument- River! Come help me instill some logic into-"

He halted mid- sentence when he saw the young couple eyeing their interaction with amusement. He immediately gulped and pointed clumsily at Amy.

"Hel- Hello Ponds. You're so… young. Well, this was fun. May have gotten things a bit wrong with the steering. Got to go. See you in a few… years."

"Doctor," said Amy hesitantly, taking in her Raggedy Man's look of panic.

"Bella, get back in the TARDIS," he kept staring at his Ponds- so very young.

"Why-" The young redhead did not seem keen on doing as he said.

"Just do it. Don't argue." He used his "I'm in charge, no questions" voice.

"But-" He had turned around and was physically trying to pull her back into his box.

"BELLA TARDIS NOW!" he had commanded armies but was still having the most difficult time getting a single young girl to obey him.

"Well, hello Sweetie," said River delightedly, bringing out a tray of refreshments for her parents. "I didn't know you were stopping by."

The Doctor turned slightly toward her; Rory noted how he still had his arm blocking the girl, no longer seeming to be a method of pushing but now an unconscious gesture of protection. Amy kept his face in her sights, noting the stress, worry, and fear in his eyes as they remained fixed on the girl in front of him.

He turned his head slightly backwards, "Yes, well, it was more of an unscheduled, last minute stop. But we can't stay- have somewhere we have to be now. Don't we, Mia?" He was still trying to catch the girl's eye as she remained oblivious to the situation, still trying to move forward even as his firm grip held her back. Amy noticed his eyes were silently pleading as he tried in vain to move the girl.

"Wait- I want to ask-"

"Ah. So are you more afraid of your new companion here meeting me or me meeting her? And honestly, Doctor. Has it been so long since you've travelled with my parents that you forgot your manners?" She put the tray down in front of Rory, who was more intent on the Doctor's interaction with Bella or Mia or whatever she was called, than on the drinks and sweets his daughter had just placed in front of him.

"Doctor River Song," she said, cordially holding out her hand to the girl, whose whole being immediately froze, and the Doctor closed his eyes tightly, face falling completely and looking so utterly destroyed even Rory was tempted to hug him.

"I- I'm…" The girl had trouble forming sentences.

"River, this is Mia- Jack's niece. Or have you met Jack yet? Yes, of course you have- we found this house with him. Well, anyway, we really should be off, I promised him we wouldn't be away too long this time." The Doctor continued his struggle against the now numb girl.

"What, that's it? Why did you come here if you were just going to leave, Doctor? Or are you trying to run away from my parents before they ask to come along too?" asked his very confused wife, dropping her hand as the girl continued to ignore it.

"NO! Not at all. I- just came to borrow the gemstone of Rubicainan, River. Do you still have it?" he blurted out the first thing that came to mind that would get her to leave the room.

"Yes," she said, seeing through his lie but not pushing it. "I believe it's in one of the boxes in the storage somewhere. I'll go get it. Should only take a sec." She turned, slightly confused as she went to retrieve the mostly- useless gem.

Rory and Amy stood up and walked to the pair, who still hadn't moved. The Doctor's eyes bored into the girl's face, as her moment of immobility passed and her face crumbled.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his eyes downcast for the briefest of seconds. "Obviously we got the time wrong. Are- are you ok?"

She looked at him then, her eyes filled with tears.

"She- she didn't even know me."

"No, she wouldn't."

"She just looked right through me, as though I were some stranger, just another one of your…_companions,_" she spit the last word out through tears that were threatening to overtake her.

"She doesn't know yet, Bells. You don't exist." He wanted more than anything in the worlds to fix this.

She turned and grabbed him by the lapels of his dark coat, burying her face in his chest as he wrapped his arms tightly around her, rocking her gently back and forth.

"Oh, Daddy." Amy and Rory gaped at the word. "How do you do this?! Is this what you go through when you meet in the wrong order?! I hate it! It's wrong! Fix it, Daddy. Please."

Rory and Amy's hearts broke as they watched the Doctor crumble as well, helpless to undo the last few minutes, only able to hold his little girl as the sobs overtook her whole body.

"Shh. It's okay. It'll be ok. We'll go anywhere you want. Just name it. Anywhen at all. You'll be ok, love."

She looked up at him, her tears tearing his hearts apart, then she leaned her head on his chest once more and finally took in her grandparents, who were standing there in shock and pain as they both desired to run and comfort her.

"You're so young. You don't know me either, do you?"

Amy looked almost ashamed as she bowed her head, the simple gesture answer enough.

"I'm so sorry."

She buried her face in the Doctor's shirt once more, barely getting out, "I want to go see Mama. A mama who knows me. And a Gran and Granddad Rory who don't look at me like I'm impossible. I want to go, Daddy. Let's just get out of here. Please. I want this to just be a bad dream."

"Okay. Shh. Okay. I just need you to hold it together for a few more minutes. Can you do that for me, love? Wait in the TARDIS and I'll be right there. Then we'll go. It'll be ok."

"Promise?" She was no longer the young adult she had played at when they first arrived, now she was the fragile child she was still learning to leave behind.

"I promise, baby. We'll go. Just wait a few more minutes."

When she turned and dejectedly walked slowly back into the TARDIS, the Doctor closed his eyes once more, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Then he turned to his stunned in- laws, taking them in and then looking anywhere but at them.

"You knew. All this time. Of course you did. Obvious, really," he muttered to himself.

"Doctor- what just happened?"

"Well, obviously Rory, my daughter's hearts just broke because her mother doesn't even know she exists!" He took out his anger and frustration on the Roman. "We promised ourselves this would never happen- took so many precautions. And I mucked it up again! Daft old man. And now I somehow managed to hurt the one person in the universe I hadn't screwed up before! I really don't deserve her." He went on with his private berating.

Amy went up to him then, throwing her arms around him and stopping his guilt- driven pity party.

"She's beautiful."

He smiled, a single huff of a laugh coursing through his body. She was his Bella. Of course she was beautiful.

"And she's a Pond. She'll be ok. We always are, in the end."

"Williams," declared an already- defeated Rory.

"Well as far as names go, she's technically a Song, but that's all titles and semantics and gobbledygook like that," said the Doctor, life returning to his eyes as he focused on the trivial and on the wonder that was his child.

"So," said Amy, a mischievous light in her eyes, "Gran?"

"Just don't tell me or River when you meet her again."

"So, we know a spoiler then? That _neither_ of you know?"

"Well, _I_ know about it."

"No, not about her- you didn't know that _we_ know about her! That means, we will know more than you!"

"Well, I guess one could argue-"

He could already see the delight his little Amelia Pond was taking in the knowledge of the future. It was enough to stutter one of his heartbeats.


End file.
